Mantua Catchathon.....NOT!

Utah Fishing Reports & Discussion Utah Fishing General
1

All i gotta say is I think there must have been a major evacuation of sorts from a small town because they all showed up to fish Mantua this morning. Needless to say i think i saw a total of 5 fish caught after 2.5 hrs. We had a camera in the water and could see the dirty buggers all over but the moment you moved your offering they ran away much like the Democrats during upcoming election [:P]

So we headed over to another lake and caught 15 Rainbows in a matter of two hours. Very disappointed in Mantua after all the reports of fish.

Happy New Year!

2

I caught many - but they were 3-inch gills. I only brought home 6. I left around 10. A few others fishing around me weren’t catching too many either. Not sure the reason for the slow down. But you never know if they are going to bite or not unless you try it out.

3

How was the ice cond ?? did you see any snow machines out yet ?? Thanks

4

Ice was about 4-5" with 2 " of slush in places. One guy brought out his Sled, but that was the only one we saw. Never seen panfishing that bad this early in the season

5

I ended up having a pretty good day. Getting there a bit after you and Lavaman - right about the turning of light. Was pleased to hit on my first gill right away, before I’d even got the camera situated.
But then it was quiet. Once I got the cam dialed in on the jigs - it was fun city, watching all those perch move in, and take interest in my offering - just to peck at the tip of the worm and move on. I can see how a half worm might help.

I would say wax worms are preferred, meal worms second, and crawlers - not so much. Got spikes - but the little buggers turn to goo before I can get a hook through them. They are probably all froze silly by now. It was danged CHILL out there today! 3 degrees. Brrr. At least it wasn’t windy. And when the sun came out - that was awright.

Yesterday’s slushy snow have mostly yielded to some hard ice. More snowmobiles out today.
After you both left - I started hitting into the gills pretty good. Actually picked up around noon, and got a few willing gills mixed in with the timid perchies. (need to try some different colors maybe). The gills were more aggressive, and actually hungry.

Ended up pulling in at least a half dozen out of that last hole you put your tent over Lavaman. It was somewhat shallower than my perch-school-spot. Timid hits, but got some good takes. Even pulled the chunker (8x4) out of that hole. Never did bring the camera over, wish I had - in hindsight. That spot was on for me.
Used mostly a single ice-fly jig, green/white with eye spot, and glow paint. Also an orange/white worked well. Also dabbled with some Trout lures as an attractor above an ice fly, tipped with mealies, or waxies. Foul the tip so the juices run free.

Ended up with 15 fish. Smallest gills were about a bit over 5-inch, and largest was the 8 inch chunk. Not a lot of length gained, but height, and thickness, indeed.
Pretty sure a couple were sunfish, not blue-gill. Much whiter flesh, looks like crappie meat!

So I’d call that improvement. 1 fish first day, half dozen the second, then more than a dozen the third. NOW my son wants to join me! We may hit it at 10-12ish Sat. Probably not a long trip.

But - time for a wider sled, and a tent needs to join my arsenal.

Good seeing ya’ll out there.

The spring bobbers I have are from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQqssLMNZI0. They’re more pricey, but seem worth it. Plus - when I send them this photo - I get another one free! (so they say). You can see them in action on Youtube. (no affiliation)

6

Nice catch! Glad to see you had better success than me. I would have ended staying longer if I would have driven myself. But my wife is sick so I was needed more at home today. Not sure when I will get back out there. Probably next week sometime.

7

Pretty sure a couple were sunfish, not blue-gill. Much whiter flesh, looks like crappie meat!

A bluegill is a member of the sunfish family. Looking at your pics, all I see are male/female bluegill and a yellow perch with the eye harvested for bait. All have white meat just like a crappie and all taste sweet. I love how bluegill get taller (not necessarily longer) and thick. I can get a thicker fillet from a healthy 8 inch gill than I can a 10 inch crappie…unless that crappie has been pigging out on bait fish in Willard. Thanks for the pics!

8

Look at page 61 of the Utah fishing proc. There are Green Sunfish, and Bluegill - different but similar fish. My dad was able to ID the difference. I think a standout is the veritcal bars on da’Gills.

I’m intrigued that Mantua holds the B-Gill record. 2 lbs, 11 inches. CHUNK!

I’m hoping for a Crappie new year!

If I can outfish Ben on an ice-outing, figure I must be doing something right! Getting the touch. Folks seem real put off at 10am and bail out. I’ve found a good bite to come on post-noon. But I would like to figure out what turns on the perch. They were darn-right snooty today!

9

Where were you fishing such as where about on the lake. I heard the inlet is a good bet if the ice is safe. The lrve hatch reallly killed the bite last weekend. How deep were you fishing? hahah sorry for so many questions. We fished it sunday and caught one trout. We watched countless perch in about six feet of water suck in those dam larve and not our prefectly matched lures.

10

Pretty well parked at the south end, and marched towards the point. There’s folks dotted all along “the trail”. Was thinking to try closer to shore, or towards the inlet - so my kid doesn’t have to hike so far. (at least until I get a REAL sled! The “trails” were ruffed up from slush/steps/freezing. Made for a tippy ride out.)

There were a couple snowmobiles that tooled past the inlet, but at the VERY inlet there was still open water. But in general I’d bet the fish like the “flow path”.
Don’t have the exact depth, but at least 10 feet I’d say. Tried to get right down to the bottom, then just lift above the weeds. I hear the trout (that noone wants) run about 4 feet down. But the Gills and Perch hug the weeds.

I’m thinking to get those perch to react better - I need to try more patterns, and go even smaller. I’ve got a couple tiny pink jig heads, and an itsy bitsy ruby red one (looks like Dorothy’s slippers). So small they couldn’t NOT take it in their mouth! Plus plan to tip with a smaller chunk - try some perch meat too.

Were you watching the perch with a camera or down your hole?

11

Look at page 61 of the Utah fishing proc. There are Green Sunfish, and Bluegill - different but similar fish. My dad was able to ID the difference. I think a standout is the veritcal bars on da’Gills.

I’m familiar with the differences. I chase them the better part of the year. You may have caught some but I am not seeing any in the pics you posted. At the risk of sounding like a huge jerk (and I have nothing against you CoyoteSpinner), here is a thread I posted this past June. I caught the biggest green sunfish I have caught from Utah Lake. The question was asked whether or not I was sure it was a green sunfish or a bluegill so I went ahead and posted some pics of male and female bluegill to show the differences. Some of the more notable differences between a bluegill and a green sunfish are body shape, mouth size, and fin coloration. The main thing is, they are both in the sunfish family and both taste great.

12

Just watching them down the hole. It seems that the key for me to get into fish at Mantua isnt really location. It has always been using those Maniac Gizzy Bugs on Mainiac Jig Heads. The White body on a green head seems to be the ticket for trout and a pink body for the perch.

13

Jig or lure preference may indeed be the trick for you.

In my case, that isn’t so much of a factor as is some other things. That lake, in my experience is either ‘on’ or ‘off’. Yesterday it was the latter (and not just for me, but for many not named ‘Coyote’ or ‘thefriends’).

I fully believe in:

A. location, and…
B. presentation

But some swear on jig or ice-fly type, which I do agree can make a big difference.

14

I believe all the traffic really makes a difference towards turning them off on Mantua. It is such a shallow lake that all the commotion on the ice is sure to put them off.

15

Chuck! It’s nice to see you on here again, buddy! You are indeed right…that shallow ponds gets a ton more pressure than it used to back when I first started ice fishing.

Difference of day and night, IMO.

And that’s why I’m so against advertising on these smaller/shallower lakes.

16

:blush: duped - oops :blush: Plus pic below…

17

You may have caught some but I am not seeing any in the pics you posted. At the risk of sounding like a huge jerk (and I have nothing against you CoyoteSpinner), here is a thread I posted this past June.. . . both taste great.

I had seen that post - I think part of what inspired me to try to watch for the difference. Didn’t mean to be a jerk by pointing you to the proclamation either. Thought to snapshop that page and post, but figured - we all got a copy right?

I’m not gonna start a debate (except to say - LESS FILLING [:p] )
I’m really no sure, and don’t pretend to be. I wish they book had pix of both male and female.
The one I thought most likely (top left - 2nd down) struck me as having much whiter flesh. And the photo doesn’t really show - but seemed to lack the vertical stripes, was greener in color, and had green spots - more horizontal patterns.
But in any case - no worries. I did enjoy the discussion that ensued from your post.

So - I hear these stories about how great perch eyes can be for bait. Is this limited to perch eyes? Don’t see any reason that Gill-eyes would be any less tasty or attractive???

18

[;)] Drove by Matua mid day on the 31st. You would of thought the circus came to town. I have never had the greatest luck there, but it also has been a few years since I have tried. Others that I heard were there were not too happy.

Your either Fishing or your NOT !!

19

I used the eye from a white bass as bait to tip a jiggin’ spoon. Didn’t seem to hurt anything…except for the white bass. Yellow perch eat other yellow perch (just like white bass eat other white bass and anything else that will fit in their mouth) so the eye must be a familiar taste to them. Bluegill will mainly eat aquatic insects, larva, and small fish when it is available. I caught a few bluegill last month on white bass meat at Utah Lake. I’m sure the bluegill there have developed a taste for white bass fry. It may stand to reason that a bluegill could/would eat perch or bluegill fry if they were available. Give it a whirl and let us know how it goes. My bet is that it would work!

20

That one pic where you just zoomed in on that single fish out of the bluegill group family photo is dead centered on a female bluegill. She has a small ear flap and light yellow color on the body. The green sunfish has a much more elongate body, it’s not round like a plate at all. Coloring is not a good way to tell the two apart as that can vary due to light intensity in the water. Green sunfish have mottled blue flecks on the face as well. Also there is a yellow stripe outlining the dark ear flap. They tail often has a narrow yellow outer edge too. The mouth is much bigger about, enough to take your thumb all the way in if the fish is about 7 inches. There are green sunfish at mantua and I have caught them through the ice, but there aren’t any in your pic this time. There are some hybrids too both at Mantua and Utah lake and those are much harder to distinguish for the average person. They will look more like a bluegill with a huge mouth and the mottled blue on the face will be apparent.